August 08, 2022 | OWL Venice

Ayurvedic Practices: Tame Your Tongue Bacteria

There's a health trend gaining traction. It's not a diet, not a workout, not a supplement. It's an ancient practice, going back thousands of years, as a means of maintaining superior, full-body health. We're talking tongue scraping. Yes, cleaning your tongue contributes to the support of your overall health. Are you ready to join those who include tongue scraping in their morning and evening routine?

What Is Tongue Scraping?

In a nutshell, tongue scraping removes excess particles from your tongue that cause bad breath and other oral health issues. But cleaning your tongue supports more than the health of your mouth. Every system within your body is connected by a network of pathways. When all systems are thoroughly cared for, the network operates at optimal levels. This includes caring for the environment of your mouth through brushing, flossing, and tongue scraping. When you use a scraper made with copper, you get an added cleansing effect due to the metal's antimicrobial properties. This extra bacteria-fighting power can help improve your health in ways you might not have thought about.

The Positive Impacts of Tongue Scraping

Remove Bad Bacteria

Much like your gut, your mouth has its own microbiome that can change as the inhabitants of your mouth change. There's a particular type of bacteria connected to the cause of tooth decay - S. mutans. This type of bacteria is naturally present in your mouth as part of a normal microbiome, and likes to hang out in the pits and fissures of your teeth.

However, If S. mutans finds the opportunity to multiply and proliferate on your teeth, it can change the environmental conditions of your mouth, opening the door for plaque-causing organisms to set up shop¹.

Tongue scraping can have an enormous impact on the bacteria in your mouth. One study showed a significant decrease in the salivary count of s. mutans, and concluded that tongue scraping twice daily has a significant positive effect on the bacterial balance of your oral microbiome.

A Boost in Immunity

The improvement in your oral health will naturally pave the way for an increase in your immune function. The gradual build up of toxins on your tongue and all over your oral cavity can leave your body susceptible to foreign bodies, which can have a negative impact on your immune system. Your mouth is the entryway to your gut and the starting place of your digestive system - meaning anything traveling from your mouth to your gut can lead to gut dysbiosis.

A healthy mouth helps support a healthy balance in your gut. Diligence in keeping your tongue clean will lower the probability of illness-causing germs and pathogens entering your body.

Improved Sense of Taste for Better Digestion

The coating that develops on your tongue over time is not only unsightly - it can also diminish your sense of taste. One study showed that over a period of two weeks of consistent tongue scraping, test subjects experienced a significant improvement in their taste sensation².

But how does this relate to better digestion? We know that the process of digestion starts in the mouth. Your sense of taste is what signals your brain to produce saliva which carries the enzymes necessary to break down your food. This is important to digestion because not only does it make digestion easier for your gut, it also helps your body absorb nutrients more efficiently from your food.

The build up that occurs on an unclean tongue can block the sensory receptors of your taste buds. This can impair the proper messaging function that conveys to your brain to activate the enzymes your body needs to begin the digestive process properly.

Help Your Heart Health

This is a strange one. Scientists continue to puzzle over the apparent link between oral health and cardiovascular disease. Researchers consistently find the same pathogens that cause periodontal disease involved in the cause of cardiovascular disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and even the inflammation behind rheumatoid arthritis³.

The Mouth-Gut Axis is an important factor for overall health. Including tongue scraping in your daily oral care can have a significant impact on your entire well-being.

Beat Bad Breath

Scientists estimate that almost a quarter of Americans (that’s about 80 million people) suffer from halitosis. This chronic condition of bad breath often causes a rotten egg odor due to the presence of sulfur in the digestive tract. A great majority of cases determined that the cause for this is either gum disease, or a tongue coating teeming with bacteria⁴. Research says that the tongue can provide the perfect environment for the growth of the pathogens that cause these issues.

Tongue and Gut health

Candida is a big topic among gut health enthusiasts because yeast overgrowth can throw off your bacterial balance - and a bacterial imbalance can cause yeast overgrowth. How does this connect to the cleanliness of your tongue? The main bacteria connected to tooth decay - S. mutans - can form a symbiotic relationship with Candida albicans. This means that the presence of candida can promote the growth of cavity-causing bacteria, and vice versa.

Once your candida gets out of control, the potential for overgrowth in other ideal environments throughout your body increases. This is why it’s crucial to watch for the signs of candida overgrowth and treat it quickly with our Yeast Buster herbal remedy. It’s also important to do everything you can to prevent any opportunities for yeast to take root by keeping your whole body healthy - including your mouth.

Compliment Your Cleanse

If keeping your insides healthy and clean is important to you, then you understand the value of maximizing on every opportunity that comes your way. Creating a healthy environment in your mouth is of equal importance to keeping your gut feeling golden through regular maintenance.

Including tongue scraping alongside your OWL Cleanse is the perfect way to enhance the results of your experience. Your body is already removing toxins while on the cleanse. Ridding your mouth of harmful organisms that can throw off the chemistry of your gut compliments the effects of the cleanse and supports the healing process set in motion.

Whole Body Health

We have to care for every bit of our bodies in order to reap the most rewards that contribute to our wellbeing. Attention to detail is the best way to stay in tune with your body so that you can find your ideal alignment every day.

Julie Weller

Julie is a self-made writer on a forever journey of fitness and health. As a high school music teacher, she has seen and experienced the challenges of maintaining good health while simultaneously balancing a career and healthy relationships.

Julie has always lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She loves the outdoors, hiking, and camping. Over the years she has continued to learn smarter and better ways to take care of her body while continuing to do the things that make her smile. Naturally, all of her teacher friends wanted to know how she did it - what was her secret?

Julie found herself explaining over and over everything she'd learned in her research, and sharing her experiences through trial and error. Her friends would take her advice, try some new things, and then come back to ask how to take it to the next level.

"You should charge for this kind of information!" Became a constant phrase, and so began her career of writing to share her knowledge with the world through health and wellness companies looking to spread healing and healthy habits within their communities. Now Julie gets to combine two of the things she enjoys most - writing and wellness - and use them to affect change in a real way.

When not making music with her kiddos, or writing wellness tips for a higher quality of life, you can find her reading, hiking, drumming, and fitnessing

Tags: gut health, tongue scraper

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